Heading Toward Ever After
by Celtic Lass
Summary: What happened between Giselle and Robert after the ball and before the montage of clips at the end of the movie. Enchanted Fic
1. The First Night

Disclaimer: I don't own _Enchanted_; I've only seen it once, but I was quickly taken by it, having grown up on a steady diet of fairytales and Disney movies.

For now, this is a just a one shot, but I have a few more story ideas that I may tack onto this story.

* * *

Giselle shivered a bit and moved closer to Robert. In response, the arm around her waist tightening its hold on her, while the other pulled the thin black blanket wrapped around their shoulders tighter around her body. She sighed and turned her head slightly to give him a look of gratitude. "Thanks."

"Are you okay?" His eyes were a darker blue than usual, full of concern and the love that he'd only just recognized a few hours ago.

She nodded a bit and brushed a lock of damp hair off his forehead. "Just cold. And tired. Do you think we're going to have to stay much longer?"

Robert looked around the busy street from their position perched on the back step of an ambulance. They'd been rescued from the roof nearly two hours ago, but they'd been asked to stick around while the officers investigated further. Not that any one remembered the dragon that had perched on the roof. "I'm not sure. I'll go check, you stay here, okay? I'd like to get home to Morgan before the morning."

He stood up and she grasped his hand as he wrapped the blanket more fully around her. "Robert?" She grasped at words, not quite sure what to say.

His mouth turned up in a small smile and he bent toward her, pressing a soft kiss to the corner of her lips. "I'll be right back, Giselle."

She nodded, holding the blanket closer to her form, tracking his movements across the pavement. She blinked a few times, not quite sure how the night had ended up as such. A day ago she'd been breathlessly waiting for Edward to rescue her, and then just earlier tonight she had been so torn between leaving Robert and Morgan to go home with him.

As if he felt her eyes on him, Robert turned from his conversation with a police officer and smiled at her. She waved a bit, hesitant to loosen her grip on the blanket. And then there'd been that terrible, awful, _wonderful_ dance when she knew that Edward wasn't her true love, but that she had to return to Andalasia with him. And then the apple…and nothing until she'd looked up into Robert's worried gaze. She twisted a lock of damp hair around her finger, dreaming slightly of that kiss.

"Giselle?"

Startled, she looked up to find Robert standing in front of her, his suit damp and torn, but still very regal looking on him. "Can we go now?" Robert nodded and moved closer to her. Before she knew it, he'd swept her up in his arms. She laughed a bit, throwing her arms around his neck, but still wondering at the chivalry. "Robert?"

"Hmm?"

"Not that I don't enjoy this, but…"

"Why am I carrying you?" They reached a waiting cab, and she moved to open the door when he seemed not to be able to decide if he wanted to let her down or not. "Mostly because you lost your shoes." He grinned impishly at her as he set her in the back of the cab. "But also because I wanted an excuse to hold you."

Giselle blushed and smiled, automatically taking his hand as he got in the cab beside her. They were silent for most of the car ride, content in holding each others' hand. When they reached his apartment, they tried to be as quiet as possible, knowing that Morgan would be asleep.

"Robert?"

"Hey Sam. Thanks for coming to watch her."

The office receptionist just waved it off, yawning a bit. "Is everything all right? I saw a bit of what happened on the news – just horrible that a gas leak ruined the night for you and Nancy."

"Uh…actually."

Giselle stepped out from behind Robert, waving meekly at his friend. "Hello Sam."

"Giselle! Well. Hi." Same shook herself a bit. "Well, Morgan's asleep. I'll see you on Monday, Robert."

They stepped aside as she left, the door shutting quietly behind her. And suddenly, they both realized that they were alone, and still quite wet.

"I'm just going to change. You're welcome to the bathroom first."

Giselle nodded but didn't move.

"Giselle?"

Robert's hands rubbed her bare shoulders gently and she looked up at him. "You okay?"

"Just thinking. You said something about the bathroom?"

Robert chuckled a bit, pushing her gently in its direction. "You go ahead and go first. I'll bring you something to sleep in once I check on Morgan."

Giselle nodded and moved into the bathroom, shivering as her bare feet touched the cold tile. Robert knocked a few moments later, and she gladly took the set of pajamas he handed her. A few minutes later, she came out, smiling at the sight of Robert leaning against the opposite wall, almost asleep on his feet. "Your turn, Robert."

He nodded and moved past her. She stood there for a moment before moving down the hall to look into Morgan's room. The little girl was asleep in her bed, her mouth open slightly as she breathed, her hair tangled on the pillow beside her. Giselle stood there, staring at her with a small smile on her face, leaning back as she felt Robert stand behind her and look over her shoulder.

"She'll be happy to see you in the morning." Giselle said nothing, following him into the living room as he tugged slightly on her hand. "I guess we're going to have to talk."

"About?" She yawned delicately and perched on the sofa, tucking her feet under a blanket.

"Well us I guess. And what you'll do now that you're here."

Giselle nodded and leaned against the back of the couch, settling a bit more into her makeshift bed. "Okay." She yawned again, and she felt Robert get up.

"It can wait until morning though. Goodnight, Giselle." He brushed a kiss across her lips and she smiled up at him.

"Robert? Thank you." She hoped he understood she was thanking him for more than just the kiss – for loving her, for saving her, for just being there.

One of his hands brushed at her hair, and he sat beside her, the cushions of the couch sinking a bit with his weight. "Thank you, Giselle. For so much. For coming into my life and making me fall in love with you. For making me want to believe in love again."

"I didn't do much. You knew how to love, you just forgot for awhile."

"Well, I love you Giselle. I don't think I really knew until I saw you laying on that chaise…you were so pale. I'd known that you would be leaving with Edward…but for you to almost…"

His voice shook, and she sat up, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "But I didn't Robert. You saved me."

His hands were warm on her back as he pulled back to look into her eyes. "And you saved me."

She smiled. "We saved each other?"

He nodded. "All right, I'd better get to bed, it's late."

"Good night Robert."

"Good night Giselle."

Giselle settled into her makeshift bed, folding her hands underneath her cheek as she watched Robert leave the room, turning back at the last moment to give her a smile. A smile ghosted across her lips as she closed her eyes, the strains of the song they'd danced to drifted across her dreams.


	2. The Early Morning

AN: I really should be finishing my final, but this little story got into my mind and I couldn't get rid of it unless I wrote it down. Enjoy!

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"Giselle!" Morgan's yell shattered the morning stillness, and Robert shot awake, stumbling from bed and fighting with the sheets tangled with his legs. A quick glance at the clock on his run into the hallway showed that it was nearly six, meaning that he and Giselle had only been home for about three hours. Was something wrong? "What are you doing here?! I though you'd gone home with Prince Edward!" 

"I changed my mind."

Giselle's words calmed his racing heart and helped to clear his dream-fogged mind. Making his way to the living room, he smiled at the sight of Morgan sitting on Giselle's lap and having her tangled hair soothingly combed out by Giselle's slender fingers.

"But wasn't the prince your one true love?"

Robert leaned against the doorframe, meeting Giselle's blue gaze with a warmth that he hadn't felt since he'd fallen in love with Morgan's mother. Giselle smiled softly at him before turning back to his daughter. "Well, I thought he was."

"But?"

"I realized last night that he was really just on the path leading me here." Giselle met his gaze again. "To you and your father."

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

Morgan tilted her head. "So you're staying? Here with us?"

Robert spoke then, coming up behind her to pick up Morgan's light frame and hold her against his chest. Her little legs automatically wrapped around his waist as she snuggled against his shoulder. "She's really staying Morgan. But my question is why you are up at this hour? It's not even six yet."

"I was thirsty, but then I saw Giselle…"

"And woke us all with your yelling. Think you can sleep for a few more hours, sweetheart? Giselle and I didn't get home until very late last night."

"Oh! The ball! How was it?" Morgan perked up a bit, twisting in his arms to look back at Giselle.

Giselle laughed lightly. "I'll tell you all about it later, Morgan. But I think you better go back to bed now."

Morgan nodded, and then looked up at him. "Can I sleep with you Dad?"

Robert nodded and placed her back down on the floor, running a hand over her hair for a second. "Sure. You go on and I'll be there in a minute."

Morgan nodded and turned back to the couch, moving to give Giselle a hug. "I'm glad you're staying, Giselle."

Robert couldn't look away as Giselle wrapped her arms around Morgan and pressed a kiss to her head and spoke quietly into her ear "So am I."

They both watched as his daughter ran off before locking gazes again. Robert shrugged lightly. "Sorry about that. She should know better than to wake people up."

Giselle waved a negligent hand. "Don't worry about it Robert. She isn't a bother at all."

Robert nodded and shifted awkwardly, running a hand through his mussed hair. "I probably should have offered you my bed last night."

Giselle tilted her head at him, a small smile playing across her features. "This couch is fine, Robert. I'm quite comfortable."

"Even so, you can't sleep on the couch forever."

"I didn't think I would be." She blushed slightly at that, looking away from him.

Robert came closer to her, one hand reaching out to cup the side of her face. Giselle leaned automatically into his touch, one of her own hands moving to hold his still. "We're really going to have to talk, soon."

Giselle pressed a kiss to the sensitive skin of his palm, and he froze at the sensations her innocent touch created. Not able to help himself, he bent over enough to kiss her, the hand on her cheek moving to the back of her head and weaving into the soft strands of her hair. When the kiss was over, he pulled away reluctantly.

"Dad!"

They stared at each other for a second before smiling foolishly. "You better go to Morgan before she comes out here again, Robert."

He nodded. "And I know I'll not have another chance of getting her back to bed. Since Morgan's going to be in my room with me, why don't you move to her bed?"

Giselle shook her head, already burrowing underneath the blanket that was pooled around her waist. "It's only a few hours. I'm fine here."

"Well, good night again, Giselle."

"Sweet dreams, Robert."

Robert moved resolutely back to the bedroom, leaving the door open slightly as he entered his bedroom and crossed to his bed, where Morgan was already ensconced under the covers…on his side of the bed. Rolling his eyes, he slipped under the covers and turned onto his side to face his daughter.

"Dad?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you still going to marry Nancy?"

Robert's eyes widened. "No, Morgan. I'm not." How was he supposed to tell his daughter that the woman he had planned to marry had run off with the fiancée-prince of the girl that he was now in love with?

"Oh. Good."

"Good?" Robert eyed his daughter warily. He knew that she wasn't thrilled by Nancy, but the two had liked each other enough.

"Yeah." Morgan said nothing more, scooting across the bed to cuddle against his side, her head heavy on his chest. "Dad? If I tell you something will you promise not to be too mad?"

"I guess it depends on what it is you tell me."

"Okay. Well, I kind of took the emergency credit card to go shopping with Giselle yesterday."

Robert closed his eyes, first wondering what the damage ultimately would be to the account, and then secondly thinking that it had probably been worth it if it had helped even a bit for Giselle to stay with him.

"Dad?" Her question coincided with a poke to his side. "Are you mad?"

"No, Morgan, I don't think I am. You should have asked first, but I understand. It's okay." Giselle would probably need some more things anyway if he wanted to actually have whole curtains and sheets in the apartment. "Did you have a good time with Giselle?"

She nodded against him, her fingers twisting in the fabric of his t-shirt. He fondly remembered her as an infant, holding her tiny body close as her fingers clung to his clothes. "Do you think that's what shopping with a mom is like?"

His heart stilled, and he knew that he'd pay whatever the charge of whatever yesterday had cost if his daughter had felt like that. And he had Giselle to thank… "I don't know, Morgan. Maybe. What do you think?"

"I think it could be." She yawned. "I asked Giselle what she thought, but she didn't know. I don't think she knew her mom either."

Robert held his daughter a little tighter as she succumbed to sleep, his thoughts with Giselle. It seemed like there was so much he didn't know about her, but at the same time, he knew it didn't matter. He loved her, and as clichéd as it seemed, no matter how much he would have denied it less than a week ago, he knew she was his true love. They had the kiss to prove it. With Morgan tight against him, and that thought drifting through his mind, Robert fell back asleep, a true smile on his face for the first time in six years.


	3. Morning Interlude

AN: I just wanted to thank everyone who has given me such positive reviews! I had a little trouble getting this next chapter out of my head and onto the computer – it's really more of vignette than anything - so I apologize for it being so short!

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Robert rolled over in bed, opening his eyes and expecting to see Morgan still asleep beside him. The other side of the large bed was empty though, by the coolness of the sheets, it probably had been for a while. He blinked and sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes to try to wake up as he saw the clock. It was after ten. Listening intently, he heard soft voices coming from the living room and realized that both Morgan and Giselle had to be up.

Knowing that Giselle was with Morgan, he sat in bed for a little while longer, thinking about the previous nights events. He wondered when it would hit him that he'd almost lost Giselle last night, in so many ways. When she'd been in his arms during the dance, he'd realized that somehow, in the two days that he'd known her, he'd somehow managed to fall in love with her. But he knew he'd let her go to be with Edward if it meant she'd be happy.

He closed his eyes against the memory of when the apple with the sole bite taken out of it had rolled against his foot. The following moments had been gut-wrenching as he'd watched her pale and seemingly asleep form, hoping that Edward would manage to wake her up with his kiss, even if that meant the prince really was her true love. His heart had nearly broken when it hadn't worked, only to start beating erratically at the thought that it might be _him_ that could save her.

"Daddy? Are you up?" Morgan's voice interrupted his thoughts seconds before she'd bounced onto the bed beside him.

Robert laughed and pulled her close to him, looking her over. She'd already changed out of her pajamas, into a flowered skirt and a pink top. "I'm up, Morgan. The question is, how long have you been up?"

Morgan shrugged. "A while. I watched Giselle make an outfit for today."

Robert closed his eyes, wondering which piece of material in the apartment had been used this time. He'd hoped with the shopping Morgan had admitted to that it wouldn't be necessary, but obviously not. "Oh?"

Morgan nodded, shifting on his lap. "Yeah. It's really pretty – I picked out the color for her yesterday."

Robert looked down at his daughter, who was grinning up at him. "You did?"

"Yup. I took her to one of those fabric stores that I knew Nancy liked yesterday. She said she'd make me some things too."

Robert shook his head, amazed at his daughter's thinking. "That was very nice of you, Morgan. I'm sure Giselle appreciated it."

"It's nothing. I like her." Robert made a noise of agreement in the back of his throat.

"Morgan?" Giselle's soft voice reached them from the hallway, and they both turned to look at her as her head peaked around the partially open door. She made a startled noise as she saw that he was up, before biting her lip and smiling shyly at him. "Good morning, Robert."

Robert twisted in the bed to look at the door more fully, his eyes widening slightly as she pushed on the door a bit more to stand in the doorway more fully. Robert blinked at her, wondering if he was still asleep. She was currently wearing what looked like a pair of shorts and a tank top, and he swallowed at the vision she made in such a simple outfit. He said nothing, reaching out a hand toward her.

She grinned at him, moving quickly across the room to perch on the bed next to him. One of his arms slid around her tiny waist, pulling her tight against his side. He tightened his hold on her tightly. "Hey."

Blue eyes met blue as she searched his face for a moment before leaning in to press a kiss against his lips. "Hello."

Morgan giggled and slipped from his lap. "Oh gross." Robert and Giselle looked at her, surprise reflected on both of their faces. The wide smile that spread across his daughter's face contradicted her words. "I'm going to go watch some cartoons."

Robert nodded, his gaze moving automatically back to Giselle's. "You're still here."

She bit her lip, but didn't look away. "There's no where else I want to be."

The room fell silent around them, and he stayed quiet for a long moment, content to stay where he was, as long as Giselle was there with him. "Giselle?" He kept his voice low, trying not to disturb the peace that surrounded them.

"Hmm?" She was leaning almost heavily against him, her eyes heavily lidded.

"I love you."

She gasped a bit at that, and he felt awareness shoot through her body as she sat up straighter. "I love you too, Robert."


	4. One Rainy Morning

AN: In relation to the previous chapters, this one jumps forward a few days to the weekend after the ball.

AN2: Thank you to everyone who is still reading this and who have given me such nice reviewers. I'm sorry I don't update on a regular basis, but school and work have kept me busy.

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Giselle never really wondered what if. She believed wholeheartedly in fate, having been brought up on fairytales and happily ever afters. Because of this, she knew she was exactly where she belonged.

Still, that faith in fate didn't keep her from missing her old friends, no matter how dear her new ones were. She was sure that Pip was fine, as always, and probably had taken advantage of his ties now to Edward. She could picture him know, staying in the palace grounds, ordering around all the other animals in the gardens.

In some ways, she was lucky that he'd been all her family had consisted of for so many years. It made fewer people to miss on the rainy mornings like today. Missing people in general was an odd enough feeling – though she was sure it could be worse. Much like her own self, everything in her new world was much more real, with a whole rainbow of emotions that she had to learn to sift through on a daily basis.

"Giselle?"

Robert's voice pulled her attention from the rain tracing its way down the window pane, and she turned to give him a small smile. She knew at least that she was supposed to be here; no matter the difficulties she faced adapting. Robert was here, and she was with him, and that was enough. "Good morning, Robert."

He crossed the room, his lean form wrapped in his blue robe and the hem of his plaid sleep pants brushing the floor as his bare feet slapped against the wood floor. She lifted her face as he reached her, one hand lifting to brush back his wayward curls as he bent down to kiss her lightly. He pulled away just enough to meet her eyes. "Are you okay?"

She lifted the corners of her lips in a smile. "I'm fine, Robert. Just a little sad is all."

His blue eyes widened impossibly large and she blushed, remember that she'd told him about her small range of emotions back home – in Andalasia – a few days after the ball. With a smooth pull on her hands, he was suddenly sitting in her seat, and she was cuddled on his lap.

"Robert…" she released a watery laugh, shaking her head but leaning further into his warmth.

"What's wrong, Giselle? For you to be a little sad…" He let the rest of his sentence trail off, the words hanging unsaid in the space between them.

"I was just thinking of my friends back in Andalasia."

"You miss them."

She nodded. "I do. I do love it here, Robert…it's just…"

"You miss them." He gave her a soft, understanding look, one of his hands warm on her back, the other resting gently on her leg. "It's okay to miss them, Giselle. They're your friends. Your family – I understand."

"You do, don't you?"

He nodded. "And days like this make it hard not to be sad, right?"

"Oh yes. Very sad indeed." She relaxed into his embrace, her head fitting into that perfect spot between his shoulder and neck. His arms tightened around her, and she blinked back wetness – tears – from her eyes as she returned her gaze to the rainy day outside. "Robert?"

"Hmm?"

"Does it ever get easier to be sad?"

He was quiet for a long moment before he finally shook his head minutely. "I think it's something that you learn to deal with, but no, I don't think being sad gets easier."

"Oh." Giselle let out a frustrated sigh. "I didn't think so."

"I'm sorry things have been so hard for you here."

Giselle shook her head, shifting in his arms to look at him fully. "It's not your fault, Robert. I chose to stay because I wanted to. Because I knew I was meant to be here."

"But…"

"No." Her voice was firm. "True love, remember?"

Robert chuckled a bit, pulling her close for a kiss. "I remember."

She beamed at him, the lingering sorrow for missed friends evaporating from her body. "So what shall we do today?"

Robert looked thoughtful, and she smiled inwardly as he took her change in mood and subject in stride. He didn't even blink. "Well, Morgan is supposed to go to a friend's this afternoon. What about a date?" He grinned at her. "I know, I know, you consider all our other trips and outings dates, but how about a grown-up date with just us?"

"That sounds lovely. What shall we do?"

"Why don't we leave that up to me?"Giselle nodded and moved to get up from his lap, surprised when Robert pulled her tighter to him. "We have at least another hour before Morgan gets up. Why don't we just stay here for a bit?"

Giselle smiled at him, settling back against him with a happy sigh. "I am very happy to be here, Robert."

"I'm glad. I'm happy to have you here, you know."

"Even though I still need to learn so much?"

"In some ways because of that. You brought so much into my life that I didn't know I needed Giselle. I love you."

Giselle felt her eyes welling with tears again, but she didn't try to halt them. "Thank you, Robert." She kissed the corner of his mouth. "And I love you too."

He smiled at her and pressed a kiss to her temple, but said nothing. Giselle settled deeper into his embrace, her eyes closing in happiness at just being with him."


End file.
